The American Churches Unfortunate Direction

Leviticus 16:1-2
And the Lord spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died;  And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

It was interesting when my wife went to church and watched a video of someone giving up on attending church, and she mentioned to a colleague that I was definitely like the person in the video.  Though I did not see it, I can relate.  I truly believe that many churches don't give a damn about those like me.  They care more about getting "converts" into the church.  What does the difference make if you can't keep those already established in the faith?


There are many who are truly chasing God but end up chasing another dream brought forth by the leaders of the church.  This may not be entirely wrong, but when it only allows certain people (the "clique) to be permitted in positions of leadership, many of those who have been mentored and seasoned in the Word are locked out, unless they become like the flock.






The problem with the above Scripture was applied when two of Aaron's sons, Nahab and Abihu, went into the Holy of Holies without any reverence toward God.  The same applies today, but we assume that either the tangible presence of God is there at the service or we are worshiping a god that is more manageable.  Worse, no one in these service will ever admit the standards have been lowered to where humanism and being relevant are more soluble.  


Why have some left?  Listed below are some of the reasons.  I don't believe I can list them all, since I am writing from my perspective.  What is sad is many leaders don't listen, don't want to accept that something needs to change.  I will give why I left:

1.  Too much control.
I see so many leaders have been hurt by someone who took advantage of a place, people, or situation, and brought division.  What was done is go completely to the other side and allow the freedom to occur to their decision.  Many only gauge someone by how well they know the person instead of by the fruit.  Which leads to #2.

2.  Relationship over Spirit.
This one seems easy.  My wife and I spent years being mentored and being chosen in leadership at one church.  As the last two churches we attended, the leaders chose how well they know you over the abilities you have in the Spirit.  Why?  Because the Spirit's work isn't fully evident and it cannot be discerned properly through man's work.  Instead of seeing the gifts we have, the leaders chose to attack my character while I waited patiently (almost three years) to watch the Holy Spirit work.  This leads to #3.

3.  The Holy Spirit has become almost nonessential to the services.
It is a shame to see how we can build such a big church and have emotional services and still have the Holy Spirit absent from our walk and assembly.  He may see one or two that He gets to minister, but when it comes to 1 Corinthians 12, anything of the Spirit is squashed by the control of the leaders.  He has no freedom to work through He wills, only those when and who the leadership allows.  This is not the church Jesus built.

4.  Always looking for new methods to run church.
Instead of following the New Testament doctrine, we implement new ways, we seek new interpretations, we follow new doctrines and believe this is God's will.  We now base what we feel as truth, instead of making Truth or way of worship.  We hear sermons on how to make us a better person but we do it with as little of the Bible as possible.  We no longer seek truth to transform us but seek feelings in hopes that the Truth will be transformed to what we want.  Humanism at its best.  Making God come to our terms instead of us coming to Him on His terms.

These are a few.  In Leviticus 16, the priests were required by law to perform certain things to enter into His presence.  The most intriguing factor is the fear of the Lord they had compared to today, which is almost nothing.  The priests, if they did not follow what they were called to do, would lose their lives, just as Nahab and Abihu did.  We assume by stepping into church, God is there.  His holiness requires much more than what we do and who we are.  He is much more.  


I left because churches choose to remain in their stagnant state.  It wants to remain close to the world but close enough to assume He is happy with us.  We want Him to be pleased?  Leave the world and seek Him with all you have.  How much are we willing to give up to seek Him?  It is easier to chase Him with an empty briefcase of the world. 

The sacrifices are done but His glory has not changed.  If we truly want to get closer to Him, we need to change our view of Him. 

Jeremiah 6:15-16

Michael